Are your fire exit signs compliant with the new EN 7010?
The UK’s fire exit signage problems began as long ago as 1996.
As a result of EC Directive 92/58/EEC, the Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996 required every UK business to upgrade their “text only” fire exit and exit signs to display a fast-walking man (or running man as it is more commonly known). From that day to this, UK law made it acceptable for either of the following two signs to be displayed:
British Standard  |
Eurostyle  |
Further to this, Hospital Technical Memorandum (HTM) 65 sort to build on the British Standard version of the sign by adding some licking flames. This was done to help non English reading evacuees understand exactly what this essential sign related to.
HTM 65 Fire Exits  |
With the introduction of the HTM 65 fire exit sign, three signs were thus allowed to be used in the UK.
Today it has been known and observed first hand by this author that some large organisations in the UK can actually have as many as three different styles of fire exit signs within the same building….and not all of these organisations are hospital premises. Many buyers and Health and Safety Managers feel the HTM 65 sign does indeed mean more to a foreign or panicking evacuee. As such, they specify it over the other two signs.
Although not breaking any law, as things stand today buildings with a mix of sign type (particularly the BS5499 and Eurostyle sign) are in breach of British Standard 5499 part 4. The Standard clearly states that buildings cannot mix fire exit sign designs. This is because in the panic situation of a fire alarm sounding, an evacuee could start following British Standard fire exit signs only to be confronted by the Eurostyle running man half way along the escape route. It is at this point that he or she could potentially pause, thus delaying their escape from the building.
The knock-on effect of a dithering evacuee can be significant – delaying not just themselves but others behind them. In essence, this is the same as the slowing driver who is “rubber necking” at an accident on the other side of the motorway. His actions slow down everyone else behind him.
However, it is worth noting that whilst being in breach of a British Standards is not advised, it is nothing more than being in breach of industry best practice. However, courtesy of EN 7010, these same organisations that mix fire exits or use only the Eurostyle exit sign will be outside of the law come early 2011. This is because European Standard ISO 7010 is set to become a European Normative or Law – a law that all member states like the UK must adopt.
When it comes to fire exits, ISO 7010 itself currently endorses the good practice laid out in BS5499 part 4 – specifying the fast walking man in the open doorway. Although the details of how and when ISO 7010 will be converted into a European law are still unclear at the time of writing, we do know that once 7010 is law, the old Eurostyle sign will no longer be acceptable within UK workplaces. As www.signsandsafety.co.uk understands it, at this point all our customers will need to comply by upgrading their signs to only signs showing the running man in an open doorway.
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